CLEC US Lec Corpa (MM)

MPLS expansion takes next-generation IP-based data service beyond Eastern U.S. CHARLOTTE, N.C., Dec. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- US LEC Corp. (NASDAQ:CLEC), a full-service provider of IP, data and voice solutions to businesses and enterprise organizations throughout the Eastern United States, today announced the expansion of its MPLS VPN data network that can now provide scalable and secure connectivity both nationally and internationally. "US LEC is expanding our MPLS VPN service in response to substantial customer demand, allowing us to better serve multi-location customers on a national level while also providing international connectivity," said Jeffrey Blackey, US LEC senior vice president of marketing and business development. "We now have the ability to provide flexible, secure communications options to customers' headquarters, branch offices and facilities outside of our previously established 16-state footprint." US LEC MPLS VPN service provides a robust solution for businesses that allows data traffic with differing requirements to co-exist on the same network, such as Internet access, enterprise-wide inter-office VoIP calling and critical business applications such as Customer Resource Management applications. MPLS VPN offers a considerable improvement to legacy data networking solutions through its meshed network architecture. Previous data networking solutions offered a "hub and spoke" network design that made the "hub" a single point of failure for all applications. MPLS VPN is built on a "meshed" architecture and eliminates the requirement for a central host that can become a bottleneck. Speeds may also be scaled incrementally from fractional T-1 speeds below 1.544 Megabits per second (Mbs) to DS3 (up to 45 Mbs) to Ethernet Local Loop at 100 Mbs. MPLS VPN supports quality of service (QoS) guarantees, allowing US LEC customers to prioritize traffic. With traffic prioritization, the most important traffic travels over available bandwidth first with other traffic utilizing remaining bandwidth. As priority traffic decreases, all other traffic uses available bandwidth. Better bandwidth utilization helps businesses reduce the amount of bandwidth needed, reducing costs and improving a business' ability to utilize its bandwidth investment effectively. "An MPLS solution provides US LEC customers the survivability for business continuity and a data networking service that can grow incrementally as the business grows," said Alan Fitzpatrick, US LEC senior vice president of engineering. "This expansion now gives an even broader avenue for growth, including branch offices both located outside our U.S. markets and internationally." About US LEC Based in Charlotte, N.C., US LEC is a full-service provider of IP, data and voice solutions to medium and large businesses and enterprise organizations throughout 16 Eastern states and the District of Columbia. US LEC offers advanced, IP-based, data and voice services such as MPLS VPN and Ethernet, as well as comprehensive Dynamic TSM VoIP-enabled services and features. The company also offers local and long distance services and data services such as frame relay, Multi-Link Frame Relay and ATM. US LEC provides a broad array of complementary services, including conferencing, data backup and recovery, data center services and Web hosting, as well as managed firewall and router services for advanced data networking. US LEC also offers selected voice services in 27 additional states and provides enhanced data services, selected Internet services and MegaPOP(R) (local dial-up Internet access for ISPs) nationwide. For more information about US LEC, visit http://www.uslec.com/. Except for the historical information contained herein, this report contains forward-looking statements, subject to uncertainties and risks, including the demand for US LEC's services, the ability of the Company to introduce additional products, the ability of the Company to successfully attract and retain personnel, competition in existing and potential additional markets, uncertainties regarding its dealings with ILECs and other telecommunications carriers and facilities providers, regulatory uncertainties, the possibility of adverse decisions related to reciprocal compensation and access charges owing to the Company, as well as the Company's ability to begin operations in additional markets. These and other applicable risks are summarized in the "Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors" sections and elsewhere in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2005, and in subsequent reports, which are on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. US LEC is a registered service mark of US LEC Corp. US LEC and Design (R) is a registered service mark and trademark of US LEC Corp. StarNet(TM) and MegaPOP(R) are service marks of US LEC Corp. Media Contact: Paul Wilson, 704-319-6875, or , or Investor Contact, James Stawski, 704-319-1189, or DATASOURCE: US LEC Corp. CONTACT: Media, Paul Wilson, +1-704-319-6875, or , or Investors, James Stawski, +1-704-319-1189, or , both of US LEC Web site: http://www.uslec.com/

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